Fan



I 1,636,286 y 1927' c. L. CHRISTENSEN FAN Filed Oqt. 10. 1925 2Sheets-Sheet l Car/ 1.. abr/lsfens en,

gwuentoz cab/ 3m July 19, 1927.

' 1,636,286 c. CHRISTENSEN FAN Filed Oct. 10. 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 II|l| |l Z 6 gwumwtoc m' nesses C'S'dun.

5 wad/m having a fixed Patented July 19, 1927 1 I UNITED STATES cm I;-cameraman, or DALTON, nnnnasx a.

- Application fled October 10, 1925. Serial No. amen.

This invention relates to improvements in motor. vehicle power plantswhich embody internal combustion en 'nes that are water cooled, andwherein t e cooling water is reduced in temperature by passing throughan air cooled radiator. w

In power 'lants of the above kind the air is usually di'awn rearwardlythrou h the radiator by means of a fan driven liy the engine anddisposed directly behind the ra diator and in front of the engine.Thefans now commonly employed embody blades itch and adapted to draw theair rearwar ly through the radiator towards the engine.

It is well known that the engines of power plants of the above kind donot operate with maximum efliciency durin cold weather by reason of thefact that t e} fan maintains the cooling water at an excessively lowtemerature. It is also well known that the an now employed often resultsin freezing of the water in the radiator during 001 weather so that thewater cannot circulate, and overheating of the engine results. It isstill further well known thatpower lants of the above kind often. becomefau ty in operation by reason of the fact that the water is kept at sucha greatly reduced temperature that starting of the engine is onlyeffected with great difiicult The primary object of the presentinvention is toprovide means operable for varying the amount of airdrawn through the radiator in accordance with --the variations in.

eflicient operation of the engine.

Still another object of the invention is to provide means fordiscontinuing the forcible draft of air through the radiator whereby theliability of the water freezing inthe radiator in very cold weather isreduced to a minimum.

Still another object ofthe invention is to provide means for forcing thewarm air from about the engine forwardly through the radiator, so as tohave a warming effect upon the water in its passa e through the radiatorwhereby starting of the engine is facilitated and the efiiciency of theen inc is enhanced during abnormally cold weather I preferablyaccomplish the above objects by the provision of a fan between theengine and the radiator embodying blades reversible in pitch andadjustable in pitch so as to effect the desired draft of air in thedesired direction.

A further object is to provide a fan of the above kind which is extreme]simple and durable in construction as wefi as efiicient in' operation. 4

Still another object of the invention is to provide a fan of the abovekind wherein means is provided for facilitating ready control of theblades thereof by the driver of the vehicle.

Further objects will become apparent as the nature of the invention isbetter understood and the same consist in the novel form, combinationand arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described shown in theaccompanying drawin and claimed.

In the drawing, w erein like reference characters indicate correspondingparts throughout the several views.

Figure 1 is a fragmentary elevational view illustrating an embodiment ofthe present invention.

Figure 2 is a front elevational view partly broken away, of the fanshown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a central longitudinal section of the fan shown in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a transverse section taken on line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a transverse section taken on line 55 of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a transverse section taken on line 66 of Figure 3.

Referring more in detail to 5 indicates, a conventional form of watercooled internal combustion engine and 6 indicates a conventional form ofair cooled radiator through which the water is circulated from the waterjacket of the engine in a the drawings,

well known manner, the radiator 6 being 1 spaced from and in front ofthe engine.

In the embodiment of the invention shown, a horizontally andlongitudinally disposed spindle is fixed to the cylinder block oftheengine 5 by having its threaded rear end 7 screwed into a. threadedsocket in the forward end of the engine block. The spindle 7 terminatesat its outer end in a head 8 against which is positioned the forward endof a pulley 9 which is rotatably disposed u on the forward end of thespindle 7 e pulley 9 has a hollow ri 'd extension upon its forward endforming t e hub 10 of a fan which also embodies a plurallty of radialblades 11, which have shafts 12 upon their inner ends journaled inradial openings of the hub whereby the fan blades may rotate about theirlongitudinal axes. Secured upon the inner ends of the shafts 12 of theblades within the hollow hub 10 are spur gears or pinions 13, andslidable longitudinally through suitable openings in the .pulley 9,'area plurality of rods 14, the forward ends blades 11.

of which terminate in rack bars that project into the hub 10 and each ofwhich meshes with one of'the pinions 13 of the fan lidablelongitudinally of the spindle rearwardly of the pulley 9 is a collar 15to which the rear ends of the rods 14 are rigidly secured, and thiscollar 15 has an annular groove engaged by the inwardly projecting pins16 on the ends of a fork 17, rovided upon one end with a lever 18, w ichis pivoted intermediate its ends as at 19 upon the horizontal arm of anangular bracket 20 suspended from the rear end portion of the spindle 7as clearly shown in Figures 1 and 3. A bushin 21, is disposed on thespindle between the racket 20 against the engine block. The collar 15 isslidable on the bushing 21, and it is thus apparent that when the collar15 is forced in one direction the pinions 13 are turned to adjust thepitch of the blades 11 in one direction while movement of the collar inthe other direction effect adjustment of the pitch of the blades 11 in areverse direction; In this manner the blades may be set in a plane atright angles to the axis of rotation of the fan so as to be neutral andhave no action upon the air in so far as drawing or forcing thesamethrough the radiator is concerned. Upon movement of the collar 15,in one direction, the rack bars of the rods 14 cause rotation of thepinions 13 for effecting rotation of the blades 11 about theirlongitudinal axes, and it is thus apparent that the blades may besetatthe desired pitch for effecting the drawing of the reuired amount ofair rearwardly through t e radiator. On the other hand, movement of thecollar 15 in the opposite direction will efl'ect a reverse rotation ofthe gears 13 so that the blades 11 are set at the desired pitch in areverse direction for regulating the amount of air forced by the fanforwardly through the radiator. The heat of the engine will warm thisair and when the same is forced forwardly through the radiator such airwill have a warning effect upon the water passing there through forfacilitating 1,ese,2ae

starting of the engine or increasin its operating efliciency inabnormally col weather as isobvious.

An operating rod 22 is connected to the lower end of the lever 18 andmay be extended rearwardly to the instrument board 01 the vehicle so asto be conveniently manipulated by the driver of the vehicle.

The forward end of the hub 10 may be closed by a removable cover plate23, held in place by set screws 24, and this cover plate may e removedfor facilitating access to the pinion and rack bars for renewal orrepair purposes.

From the foregoing description it is believed that the construction andoperation as well as the advantages of the present invention will bereadily appreciated by those skilled in the art.

Minor changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention as claimed.

What I claim as new is: v

A fan for motor vehicle cooling systems including a stationary spindle,a pulley rotatably disposed on the forward end of the spindle andprovided with a plurality of passages therethrough disposed about andparallel with said spindle. a hollow hub rigid with the forward side ofsaid pulley, a plurality of rods slidable longitudinally in saidpassages and having their forward ends proecting into the hub forwardends of said rods being formed to set up rack teeth, ra

ward side of the pulley within the rear end of the hub, and means tomaintain the pulley substantially in engagement with said head includinga sleeve disposed on the spindle with its forward end abutting the rearside of the pulley, said collar being rotatably and slidably fitted onsaid sleeve.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

CARL L. CHRISTENSEN.

